We will be traveling to Barcelona and then on to Southern Spain in late April/May. We are staying 6 nights in Barcelona (have been there before and love it) and then plan to visit Cordoba (2 nights), Granada (3 nights), Malaga (3 nights), Ronda (1 night), and Seville (5 nights). We have 3 nights we could could spend in one of these latter places or we could go from Barcelona to Valencia or Madrid for a few nights. We’ve been to Madrid twice, but are not sure if Valencia is worth a visit or if we are already moving around too much. We’re in our mid-60s, very active, and enjoy the architecture, art, food, beautiful vistas, and shopping. We also plan to travel by train, plane or bus. Any ideas on our itinerary?

I love your itinerary. We have been to all the same places except for Ronda. I have not been to Valencia so can't comment on that. But I would suggest spending a night or two in Toledo if you haven't been there. It's a fascinating city filed with Jewish, Muslim, and Christian history. It's beautiful and especially charming in the evenings when the bus tours have departed and the city is illuminated. What city are you flying home from? That might be a deciding factor. If Madrid, it would make sense to spend 2 nights in Toledo and the last night in Madrid. I don't think you are moving around too much because you have longer stays in Seville and Barcelona for a slower pace. But of course everyone is different.

Thanks for your post, Karen. We are flying home from Seville. We’re not sure if we should go directly from Barcelona to Cordova or detour somewhere before we start the southern Spain part of the trip.

sfgg,
While I do enjoy Valencia very much, in your case I would go directly to Andalusia from Barcelona rather than detour somewhere else, unless it's to head south on the Barcelona-Madrid high speed AVE and stop in Madrid for a few nights before heading to Andalusia on the Madrid-Córdoba AVE.

Since you're flying home from Sevilla (and I'm assuming that's set in stone), the best way to reach Córdoba first from Barcelona would be by train.
There is one morning direct, high-speed AVE train per day that doesn't require a change of train at Madrid's Atocha rail station. It departs at 8:30 and arrives in Córdoba at 13:11. There's also a direct AVE in the afternoon, but it doesn't arrive in Córdoba until 20:27.